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The increasing use of carbon fibre (CF) material in vehicle structures is driven by its beneficial physical properties. To date, within the vehicle design process, electrical performance has been very much a secondary consideration. In this paper, the electrical parameters of CF are compared and contrasted with the more traditional alternatives, and approaches and solutions are proposed to address the issue of short-circuits through the body structure.

This paper considers the role of the Electrical Distribution System (EDS) in enabling the delivery of advanced electronic vehicle systems, particularly as they are applied to the active control of acceleration, deceleration, steering and chassis systems. The use of the “V model” is proposed to ensure that a full design verification process (DVP) is performed and that all lessons which are learned, are captured for potential future use. In order to highlight to the EDS engineer any system specific criticalities which should be addressed during the design process, a progression from a product design failure mode effect analysis (DFMEA) to a mandatory system DFMEA is recommended. However, because of the entrenched component based DFMEA philosophy of many original equipment manufacturers (OEM's), a move to a design failure mode effect CRITICALITY approach (DFMECA) is explored as an alternative first step forward.

The paper focuses and develops issues raised by the SAE paper ‘THE FUTURE OF VEHICLE ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEMS AND THEIR IMPACT ON SYSTEM DESIGN’ [1] and describes the realisation of a vehicle with a 12 V architecture of flexible configuration and a power management function. The paper describes the methodology, reasoning and mission behind the creation of the vehicle, developed after collaborative exercises in Europe and the USA, and resulting in a joint programme involving a major vehicle manufacturer and a European system supplier. The electrical system is becoming the focus of activity world-wide due to rapid changes in vehicle requirements, in the areas of safety, environmental and functional demands. There are opportunities for:- (a) Improved starting (b) Integrated management of power generation and demand. (c) Higher system integrity (d) Higher efficiency (e) Improvement of the vehicle electrical environment, giving benefits in component cost.